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Summary of “Be Obsessed orBe Average” by GrantCardoneWritten by Alyssa BurnetteLearn about the attitude that defines success.

Introduction5The Difference Between Being Obsessed and Being Average6Define Your Obsessions9Setting Your Motivation Milestones11Final Summary13

IntroductionHave you ever felt like there’s something special about you? Like you standout from the crowd? Maybe you’ve always been picked for sports teams inschool. Maybe you win every medal and award there is to win. Maybe you’realways at the top of the class. If any of those things describe you, then it’shighly likely that you may have grown used to thinking of yourself as specialor as someone who makes people stand up and take notice. But while it’seasy enough to be that guy in high-school or even in college, it gets a littleharder when you enter the adult world. Or when you’re twenty years intoyour career and you feel yourself sliding into a slump. By that point, youmay feel your motivation and self-assurance waning. So, how do you keepyourself going then? How do you stay at the top of your game? Over thecourse of this summary, we’ll explore the answers to these questions. We’llalso learn about the attitude you need to adopt in order to maintain successand get a competitive advantage.

The Difference Between Being Obsessed and BeingAverageHow would you describe an average person? You’ve probably met quite afew of them because-- let’s be honest-- most people are average. As kids, wegrow up hearing that everybody is special and that everybody can do greatthings or live up to their potential. But as we get older, many people dismissthis. They become disillusioned by the failures they experience in life andtake this as a signal that they were simply meant to be average. “Everybodycan’t be special,” you often hear them say. This is often used along withother common refrains like, “Everybody can’t be the next Ed Sheeran,” (orany other big name in any industry).So, if you believe you’re nothing special, what do you do? Most often, youbecome one of those people who simply goes through the motions of life.You graduate high-school, but your grades are okay, not remarkable. Yougraduate college after pursuing a field of study that is steady or predictableand achieving grades that are nothing to write home about. From there, it’slikely that you find an unfulfilling job doing nothing too exciting and pursuepersonal relationships that are probably of the same nature. That doesn’tmean that your life is wildly unhappy or that you’re destined to slogthrough every day going, “Oh, woe is me, I’m just so average.” But it doesmean that your life is unlikely to leave an impact on the world and thatyou’ll never reach your full potential.So, as you read over this prospect, you might want to ask yourself: is thiswhat you want for your life? Is this the future you want for yourself? If youranswer is no, then congratulations! You’re on the right path! Now it’s timeto figure out how to put that desire into practice. The first step is becomingobsessed. But obsessed with what? If you’re not a big fan of your currentjob, it might be tough to imagine yourself becoming obsessed with yourdaily grind. But don’t worry-- the author isn’t necessarily trying to makeyou fall in love with your job, especially if it’s the wrong fit for you. Rather,the goal is to become obsessed with your true purpose in life-- and that may

or may not be reflected by your job! The author discovered this firsthandwhen he realized that even though he was busy all the time, he wasn’tactually happy. And in fact, despite being successful, he didn’t feel fulfilledby his job. That’s when he realized that he had simply gotten off track; hefelt unfulfilled because he was no longer obsessed with fulfilling his truepurpose!But what does it really mean to be obsessed with your true purpose? Andhow can you put that into practice in your own life? Let’s unpack thelogistics by considering an example. Imagine you’re a salesman. Maybeyou’re even an awesome salesman. You studied sales or marketing incollege and you can sell water to a fish. So, because you’re good at your joband you’ve built a successful career, you assume you’re happy and fulfilled.But if you really stop and think about it, you notice that the act of selling aproduct isn’t what makes you come alive. Instead, you feel electric andenergized when you're pitching to a new client or giving a speech. Thatmight only comprise a small portion of your job, but it’s the highlight ofyour day. And if you reflect on those feelings long enough, you’ll noticesomething significant: your true purpose. Because that electric feeling is aclue. It’s your heart’s way of telling you what brings you the mostsatisfaction. So, if you follow that feeling, you'll realize that you weren’tmeant to be a salesman; your true calling is to be a public speaker!The author discovered this firsthand through his own burgeoning momentof self-discovery. But it might not be so clear-cut for everyone. So, if youfind yourself struggling with hints of a hidden purpose rather than aflashing neon sign, you might find it helpful to start by keeping mentalnotes about the aspects of your day that make you feel most alive. And keepin mind that these insights don’t have to stem from an aspect of your job.They don’t even have to sound like a proper career. For example, let’s sayyou’re a corporate executive and the highlight of your day is your morningworkout or the time you spend baking cookies with your kids. If these arethe activities that bring you meaning and fulfilment, then this may be a signthat you’re actually meant to be a fitness instructor or a baker! In fact, it’stotally possible that your true purpose is radically different from anything

you ever imagined. And in the next few chapters, we’ll explore what thatmeans and how you can pursue your purpose.

Define Your ObsessionsSo, now that we’ve considered the difference between being obsessed andbeing average, it’s time to learn more about putting those obsessions intopractice. So, how do you become obsessed? And how can you use yourobsessions to fuel your pursuit of your true purpose? If you’re not used tothinking of yourself as being obsessed with anything, you’re not alone! Theauthor observes that we often think of obsessions as being unhealthy orderanged; when we think of people who are obsessed with something, wetypically think Fatal Attraction or Single White Female. But according tothe author, that doesn’t have to be the case! In fact, when it comes to thecultivation of your life, your goals, and your true purpose, it’s okay to beobsessed.Here’s why: in this context, being obsessed means being infused withambition and determination. It means that you’re so driven to accomplishyour goals that you’re unwilling to be average. In this context, it isabsolutely okay to be obsessed with becoming your best self. Here’s whatbeing obsessed does not mean: in this context, being obsessed does notmean that you are crazy, unhealthy, or imbalanced. It does not mean thatyou neglect your family, your friends, or your health in the pursuit of yourgoals. Put simply, being obsessed just means that you are fierce andpassionate in the way you chase your dreams. It also means that you seizethe joy and opportunity in every moment of your life. So, what does beingobsessed look like? How can you make yourself adopt that state of mind?Well, as we established in the previous chapter, it starts with defining yourlife’s purpose. This is the most integral ingredient because that should bethe thing that gets you out of bed every morning. (And that means you needa purpose in life that goes beyond something like, “I get out of bed everyday because my alarm clock tells me to!”) Your purpose should be soenmeshed with your identity that if you’re not living into that purpose, youfeel like you’re not being you. Once again, keep in mind that this doesn’tmean defining your self-worth in terms of productivity. This doesn’t mean

getting out of bed so you can check off another item on your to-do list oruse productivity as a form of validation. Rather, it means that you shouldfind a purpose that makes your soul bloom and become obsessed withchasing that.For example, maybe your purpose is to bake incredible cakes that blendyour love for baking with your culinary expertise. Maybe you come alivewhen you find that perfect mix of flavors and you love imagining howpeople will feel when they take a bite of that cake. Maybe your cakes are sodelicious that they bring people together. So, in that case, you wouldn’t beobsessed with productivity or baking a certain number of cakes in a day.Instead, you would be obsessed with the feeling you get while you’rebaking. Because when you’re baking, you feel like you’re doing what youwere put on this earth to do. It’s that sense of purpose, passion, andmeaning that you’re chasing and that’s why you get out of bed everymorning. Of course, that doesn’t mean that it won’t ever be hard. It doesn’tmean that you will never fall into a slump. And it definitely doesn’t meanthat, on some days, you won’t feel like laying in bed or not doing anything.Because unfortunately, even if you’re obsessed with your life’s purpose, youwon’t always feel motivated. That’s simply human nature. So, because youwon’t always be motivated, you must always be determined. And in the nextchapter, we’re going to explore how you can cultivate that determinationand put it into practice.

Setting Your Motivation MilestonesWhat do you hope the future holds? An average person might hope thatthey’re able to retire and sit around doing crossword puzzles all day.(Although that’s not to say that there’s anything wrong with crosswordpuzzles!) Rather, what’s wrong with this picture is the fact that it centersaround accomplishing only one goal, if that. Instead of reaching a variety ofmilestones in their personal and professional life, an average person hopesto make it to life’s finish line and call it good. And that’s exactly how youstay average. By contrast, however, someone who is obsessed withaccomplishing their life’s purpose knows that doing the bare minimum isnever enough. They also know that life is about more than just reaching onemilestone. Instead, an obsessed person renews their sense of meaning andfulfilment by constantly setting new tasks for themselves to accomplish.For example, let’s go back to our example of the baker. Maybe you’ve leftyour corporate job to pursue your true calling as a baker and now you’rewondering what to do. Whether you intend to bake cakes for a living or youwant to throw yourself into developing your passion project, one thing istrue: you need to set some goals. In this example, your goals could take avariety of forms. Maybe you start by saying you want to bake and sell 100cakes. Or maybe your goal is to turn your hobby into a profitable businessby opening your own bakery. Your goal can take any form you like; the mostimportant thing is that you set one and follow through!But what if you’re able to accomplish that goal sooner than you thought?Maybe you estimated that it would take you six months to bake and sell 100cakes, but you did it in half the time! So, three months and 100 cakes later,what do you do next? An average person would say, “Wow, that’s awesome!I did it!” and then rest on their laurels. But an obsessed person knows thataccomplishing your first goal is only the beginning. So, if you’vesuccessfully launched a profitable bakery, don’t stop there! Set a new goalof becoming a chain and get to work on the development of that secondstore! Or, if you’ve sold 100 cakes in three months, set a new goal of selling